'Custom' quill stem bolt cap
11-27-17 | 02:52 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 51
Likes: 2
From: Ontario, Canada
'Custom' quill stem bolt cap
If you ride in the rain/snow at all, you know that water can collect in a few different places on your bicycle and can cause these spots to rust. A thorough wipe down after every ride is the best way to prevent this. The stem's quill bolt is a place that I often forget, and I found my stock stem had the inside of the allen bolt rust right out.
I had been looking for a while and found the perfect stem for my bike a few weeks ago, and I wanted to protect it. When I was a bicycle courier back in the day, we used to put hot glue into most of the allen bolt holes and drop a ball bearing in to make stealing components a bit more difficult. This time around, I used some of this GOOP adhesive:
And instead of a ball bearing, I found these little aluminum screw/bolt caps at a hardware store:
The cap diameter was almost an exact match to the stem opening and the mirror finish looked great. They were $0.84 CAD each I believe. The plug part was too small, so I used some pliers/cutters and spread it apart to make it wider:
It was a good fit after this, snug enough without the adhesive, but the GOOP kept it securely in place and added the water proofing I was looking for. A little bit of aluminum polish and it had a mirror finish and looks subtle and not too out of place on this sweet Sakae Ringyo stem:
Any one else come up with any clever ways of customizing/protecting your frame or components from winter weather in order to keep riding your favorite bikes all year?
I had been looking for a while and found the perfect stem for my bike a few weeks ago, and I wanted to protect it. When I was a bicycle courier back in the day, we used to put hot glue into most of the allen bolt holes and drop a ball bearing in to make stealing components a bit more difficult. This time around, I used some of this GOOP adhesive:
And instead of a ball bearing, I found these little aluminum screw/bolt caps at a hardware store:
The cap diameter was almost an exact match to the stem opening and the mirror finish looked great. They were $0.84 CAD each I believe. The plug part was too small, so I used some pliers/cutters and spread it apart to make it wider:
It was a good fit after this, snug enough without the adhesive, but the GOOP kept it securely in place and added the water proofing I was looking for. A little bit of aluminum polish and it had a mirror finish and looks subtle and not too out of place on this sweet Sakae Ringyo stem:
Any one else come up with any clever ways of customizing/protecting your frame or components from winter weather in order to keep riding your favorite bikes all year?
Last edited by Craigorock; 11-27-17 at 05:34 PM.
11-27-17 | 06:22 PM
#6
SE Wis
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 11,556
Likes: 4,334
From: Milwaukee, WI
Bikes: '68 Raleigh Sprite, '02 Raleigh C500, '84 Raleigh Gran Prix, '91 Trek 400, 2013 Novara Randonee, 1990 Trek 970
My Raleigh hybrid with a threadless headset had a black rubber plug in the bolt OEM. Yeah, I lost it somewhere.
11-28-17 | 07:33 AM
#7
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 3,151
Likes: 888
Bikes: too many sparkly Italians, some sweet Americans and a couple interesting Japanese
Nice work. I replaced the lost black cap cover for a Modolo quill stem bolt with a black plastic cut out to fit and annually glued down with silicone. Best thing about it is my being extra vigilant about annual frame bolt checkups on all my bikes, something about knowing I have a hidden bolt makes me more careful.
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